This invention relates to a material-handling vehicle of the kind, hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9ckind specifiedxe2x80x9d, including a structure having ground engageable propulsion means, a loader arm mounted on the structure for up and down swinging movement and, on opposite sides of the loader arm, an operator""s cab and an engine having an output to provide power for said movement of the loader arm and for propulsion of the vehicle and a drive to connect the output of the engine to the ground engageable propulsion means to propel the vehicle.
WO-A-89/00972, CA-A-2,009,968, EP-A-0,656,315, U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,733 disclose vehicles of the kind specified in which a loader arm, in a fully lowered position, is substantially horizontal, and is at least partly accommodated in a well disposed between the operator""s cab and a housing in which the engine is disposed. The loader arm is disposed so it does not, at least substantially, interfere with the view of the operator in a direction over the top of the engine housing.
A vehicle configuration as disclosed in these three references, in which the engine is on the opposite side of the loader arm to the cab, enables the vehicle to be made smaller than would be the case where the engine is disposed beneath the loader arm and so enables the overall height of the vehicle to be reduced. It also enables a lower loader arm position to be achieved than would be the case if the engine were under the loader arm.
A side mounted longitudinally orientated engine connected by a hydrostatic drive is known from the vehicle produced commercially and the general layout of which is disclosed in WO-A-89/00972. CA-A-2,009,968 and GB-A-2268155 disclose a side mounted longitudinally orientated engine having a drive in which the gearbox is mounted directly to the engine or, in one embodiment of CA-A-2,009,968, the gearbox is mounted substantially on the longitudinal axis of the machine. The former arrangement leads a relatively long wheel base machine, whilst the latter requires a large and often complex transfer drive between the gearbox and the engine.
In EP-A-0,656,316 and DD-A-240869 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,733 the engine is disposed with its output transversely of the vehicle and an angle gear drive is provided to transfer drive through 90xc2x0 from the engine to a gearbox from which drive is transmitted to the ground engageable means.
These vehicles suffer from the disadvantage that the length of the engine plus the width of the loader arm and of the cab define the machine width. If a wider cab or loader arm or a longer engine is desired then the machine overall width must be increased which may be undesirable.
The input of the change speed gear train may be disposed transversely of the vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide a material-handling vehicle of the kind specified whereby the above mentioned problems are overcome or are reduced.
According to the present invention we provide a material handling vehicle of the kind specified wherein the drive includes an angle drive and a change speed gear train, the output of the engine is kinematically connected to an input of the angle drive and an output of the angle drive is kinematically connected to an input of the change speed gear train, and an output of the change speed gear train is kinematically connected to the ground engageable propulsion means wherein the output of the engine and the input of the angle drive are disposed longitudinally of the vehicle whilst the output of the angle drive is disposed transversely of the vehicle.
The input of the change speed gear may be disposed transversely of the vehicle.
The output of the change speed gear train may be disposed transversely of the vehicle.
The drive means may include means for disconnecting the drive between the engine and the ground engageable propulsion means.
Said disconnecting means may be disposed between the engine and the angle drive or between the change speed gear train and the ground engageable propulsion means but is preferably between the angle drive and the change speed gear train.
The disconnecting means may comprise a mechanical clutch, such as a friction clutch, a fluid coupling or a torque converter or the like.
The engine may have a drive shaft which is disposed longitudinally of the vehicle.
The engine may be a reciprocatory engine and have a crankshaft which provides said drive shaft.
The change speed gear train may be disposed in a housing comprising a gearbox.
The angle drive and the change speed gear train may be disposed in at least one housing, the housing or housings comprising a transmission unit.
The vehicle may comprise a chassis having a pair of spaced longitudinally extending frame members.
The frame members may be parallel to each other.
At least one of the chassis frame members may be apertured or relieved locally to clear at least one of the engine, gearbox, transmission unit or associated component.
The transmission unit may be provided with at least one output which is kinematically connected to said ground engageable propulsion means.
The at least one output may be disposed on or parallel to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
The transmission unit may have a front output and a rear output.
Said outputs of the transmission unit may be provided at opposite ends of a shaft, which is driven by the output of the change speed gear train, and which is disposed longitudinally of the vehicle.
The output of the change speed gear train may be connected to an input of a further angle drive having an output which extends longitudinally of the vehicle.
The output of the change speed gear train may be connected to an input of a further angle drive having an output which is kinematically connected to said outputs of the transmission unit.
The output of the further angle drive may be disposed adjacent the engine.
The further angle drive may be disposed adjacent to the engine.
The vehicle may comprise a front axle and a rear axle each having a ground engageable propulsion means and the propulsion means of at least one of said axles being connected to said at least one output of the transmission unit.
At least one of said axles may have a differential which is connected to said at least one output of the transmission unit.
The connection of the or each output of the transmission unit to at least one of said axles may comprise a shaft which may have a universal joint at least at one end.
The change speed gear train may be disposed substantially within the chassis frame members and between the axes of rotation of the front and rear wheels of the vehicle.
The engine may be spaced from the cab to define a well between the cab and the engine in which the arm, in a lowered position, can be at least partly accommodated.
The well may be disposed between the chassis frame members.
The engine may be disposed in a housing.
The engine may be disposed substantially on the opposite side of the chassis to the cab.
Mounting means may be provided between the structure and at least one of the engine and transmission unit.
Mounting means may be provided between the structure and the transmission unit and the engine may be carried by the transmission unit.
A first mounting means may be provided between a first chassis frame member, which is adjacent the operator""s cab and the transmission unit, a second mounting means may be provided between the other frame chassis member and the transmission unit and a third mounting means may be provided between a part of the structure and the transmission unit.
The mounting means may comprise compliant mounts.
The transmission unit may comprise an angle drive housing for said angle drive and a gearbox for said change speed gear train.
The gearbox may be disposed underneath the well.
The engine, angle drive housing and change speed gearbox may be rigidly connected together.
The angle drive housing may have a first mounting face, which faces longitudinally of the vehicle, to which a mounting face of the engine is connected, and a second mounting face, which faces transversely of the vehicle, to which a mounting face of the gearbox is connected.
The gearbox may have said first mounting means which may be disposed on the opposite side of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle to the engine.
The angle drive housing may have said second and third mounting means which may be disposed on transversely opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the output of the engine.
The longitudinal axis of the loader arm may extend forwardly in, or parallel to, a vertical plane containing a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
The structure may have a front end and a rear end with said longitudinal axis of the vehicle extending therebetween and the ground engageable propulsion means being disposed equidistant from, and on opposite sides of, said longitudinal axis.
The loader arm may be pivotally mounted on the structure about a horizontal axis adjacent the rear of the vehicle.
The loader arm may carry a material handling implement at its front end so that the material handling implement is disposed in front of the front of the structure when the arm is in its lowermost position.
The cab may have a side window which faces transversely across the vehicle, preferably at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the loader arm.
The top of the loader arm in a fully lowered position and at a position alongside the top of a steering wheel in the operator""s cab may be disposed wholly or substantially wholly below a horizontal plane which is not more than 1 meter, or preferably not more than 0.5. meter, above the top of the steering wheel so that the driver""s vision is substantially unobstructed by the loader arm.
If desired, the top of the boom at said position may be wholly or substantially wholly below a horizontal plane containing the top of the steering wheel.
The loader arm may be telescopic in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the loader arm.
The longitudinal axis of the loader arm may be in a substantially horizontal plane when the loader arm is in a position in which the implement engages a horizontal plane on which the ground engageable propulsion means are supported and, if the loader arm is telescopic, the loader arm is fully retracted.
The engine may be disposed so that a major portion of the engine is situated below a plane tangent to the top of the ground engaging propulsion means so as not to interfere with the view of an operator working in the operator""s cab.
The ground engageable propulsion means may comprise a pair of ground engageable wheels disposed adjacent the front of the structure and a pair of rear ground engageable wheels adjacent the rear of the structure.
The wheels of the front pair may be driven from the front output of the transmission whilst the wheels of the rear pair may be driven from the rear output of the transmission.
The ground engageable propulsion means may be driven from the engine wholly by a mechanical transmission or a hydrokinetic transmission.
The angle drive and/or the further angle drive may comprise first and second shafts disposed at an angle to each other, the first shaft being connected to or comprising the input shaft of the angle drive and the second shaft being connected to or comprising the output of the angle drive and the first and second shafts being connectable in torque transmitting relationship.
Said first and second shafts may connectable in said torque transmitting relationship by a bevel gear set.
The first and second shafts may be mutually inclined at 90xc2x0.
The angle drive and/or the front axle drive may comprise a first bevel gear mounted for rotation about an axis which extends longitudinally of the vehicle and which is in mesh with a second bevel gear which is mounted for rotation about an axis which extends transversely of the vehicle.
Damping means may be provided between the engine output and the drive to reduce engine induced vibrational resonance.
The present invention gives at least one of the following advantages.
An engine speed drive for a pump or pumps for hydraulic fluid for operating the loader arm for swinging movement up or down, and/or for telescoping the loader arm and/or for operating an implement carried by the loader arm. Such pump or pumps may be either transversely and/or longitudinally disposed so as to be driven by transversely and/or longitudinally disposed shafts of the angle drive.
If desired more than one pump may be provided and in this case one pump may be driven from the transversely orientated shaft of the angle drive, whilst a second pump may be driven by a longitudinally orientated shaft of the angle drive.
A compact drive train is achieved which can have a three point mounting providing a transmission unit which is rigidly connected to the engine which is carried in cantilever from the transmission unit.
If desired a cooling radiator for the engine may be disposed above the angle drive.